Sai JewelsJewels - saidarshan.org · Radha Subramaniam • • Country Editors: Brunei: Bro. Krishnan Ramasamy Malaysia: Bro. Shankar Santhiram • • Country Coordinators: Brunei:

SaiSaiSaiSai JewelsJewelsJewelsJewels

Regional Newsletter—November 1999 SRI SATHYA SAI ORGANIZATION,

REGION X Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore

Avatar and the Devotees 4

Dedicate your lives to the Divine 6

Spiritual Significance of Sankranthi 8

Unity and Purity 11

Satwic Meal 14

SAI Youth Page 15

Children's Corner 16

Dhyana—Meditation 18

Vision for the Next Millennium 22

Sai Activities in Region X Countries 24

News from Institute of Sathya Sai Education 33

Inside this issue:

Sri Sathya Sai Organization, Region X: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore

November 1999, No 01/1999

SAI JEWELS REGIONAL NEWSLETTER

YEAR OF HUMAN VALUES

Thought For the Month Regard your heart as the container. Your mind is the wick. Your devotion is the oil. Detachment is the matchbox. Love is a flame that shines when the lamp is lit. Without this light of love, man is submerged in the dark-ness of ignorance. Hence, love is fundamen-tal for every being. Today, man should plant the seeds of love in this heart. Love is God. Men should cultivate purity and harmony in thought, word and deed.

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba

© Sai Jewels, Regional Newsletter is published by the Sri Sathya Sai Organization, Region X. Kindly send any material to The Chief Editor, Sai Jewels, Regional Newsletter c/o 33 Cauliflower Street, Valle Verde 5, Pasig, Metro Manila, Philippines, Tel: 63-2-631-1574 Email: [email protected]

We have limited copies. Kindly pass on to another person after you have finished reading. Articles, photographs, drawings and feedback are wel-come. We reserve the right of discrimination in select-ing and editing material for publication.

Page 3 SAI JEWELS REGIONAL NEWSLETTER

Page 4 November 1999, No 01/1999

With Divine Grace and Blessings, Sai Jewels has taken a new form beginning November 1999: initiated at the suggestion of Bro. Ravindran, it is now a regional publica-tion covering Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore (BIMPS), to in-culcate greater awareness and understanding of Love, Non-Violence, Truth, Right Conduct, and Peace through Swami’s teachings. SAI JEWELS will be published four times a year, with about 28-32 pages in each issue, and publication dates coinciding with and covering the following themes:

• November – Swami’s Birthday, Christmas, New Year, Pongal (Sankaranthi), and Rama-dan;

• February – Maha Shivarathri, Lunar New Year, Yugadhi, Sri Rama Navami, and Easter;

• May – Easwaramma Day, Buddha Jayanthi, and Global Handicapped Day;

• August – Guru Poornima, Vinayaka Chathurthi, Janmashtami, Dussera and Deepavali, Sri Shirdi Sai Baba’s Birthday, Prophet Mohammed’s Birthday, and Blood Donation Day.

The chief editors will be assisted by country edi-tors in the day-to-day management of the publi-cation process. Each issue will broadly feature: exploration of spiritual and religious themes, Education in Hu-man Values (EHV)/Thoughts and Guidance for

Youth, and country contributions, which will be embedded in: • Editorial • Excerpts from Swami’s Lectures and Dis-

courses • Essays/excerpts focusing on Sathya Sai Edu-

cation in Human Values (SSEHV) for chil-dren and youth; and

• Regional activities, for which the BIMPS editors shall contribute two (2) pages each. It is suggested that the members may want to provide a calendar of activities, an update on their national projects, announcements of upcoming events, or a wrap-up report of re-cently completed activities. The country edi-tors shall be responsible for coordinating their country contributions.

Country Coordinators will be responsible for sub-scription and distribution. !

A nine-member regional editorial board has been formed. •••• Chief Editors: Philippines

Sis. Lata Seetharam, Sis. Radha Subramaniam

•••• Country Editors: Brunei: Bro. Krishnan Ramasamy Malaysia: Bro. Shankar Santhiram

•••• Country Coordinators: Brunei: Bro. Babu Sukumaran Indonesia: Sis. Babitha Mirchandani Malaysia: Bro. M. M. Sree Jayan Philippines: Sis. Divina Samson Singapore: Bro. Vashdev A. Khialani

The new SAI JEWELS is submitted at the Divine Lotus feet of

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in commemoration of the

“Human Values Day”, on 20 November 1999.

“I am ‘Yes’ to those who say ‘Yes;

I am ‘No’ to those who say ‘No’;

‘No’ and ‘Yes’ are words you speak. From Sai it is always ‘

Yes,’ ‘Yes,’ ‘Yes’.” - Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The Avatar serves as an example When the Lord incarnates in the human form, He cannot avoid abiding by the regulations set by Him. You should not forget that even if the Lord is the director of the cosmic drama, in His human form He is playing a specific role. If He does not act according to the role assumed by Him, either overdoes or underplays the role, (departing from what is appropriate), He will be falling in His purpose. When the Divine as-sumes human form, He has to serve as an ex-ample by ideal actions. What one gets in one’s life is dependent partly on what he has earned by his actions. This is called fate. This, by its nature is temporary. What is got, as the fruit of a past action will not last long. Forgetting this fact, and also forget-ting his true nature man is carried away by the transient and acts according to his whims. When an actor in a play is assigned a certain role, he studies the entire play. But while acting his role, he has to play his part alone in each scene as required in the play, but while acting his role, he has to play his part alone in each scene as required in the play and not all the roles that he knows. He has to suit his actions to the demands of his role in each scene in the play. Likewise, the Lord, when He assumed a role in the cosmic play, he has to act in each situation according to what is appropriate, and according to the rules of the game. Mankind’s fall from righteous conduct In the ancient times, people had given the high-est place renunciation or sacrifice. They adored

Dharma or Right conduct. They were pledged to upholding justice and adhered to Truth. Nowadays people have ignored these values and have been consumed by limitless passion for wealth and power. No doubt, money is nec-essary for meeting one’s daily needs. But, even here, there should be a limit. The vast ocean, when it swells beyond its bounds, causes disas-ter. The food that is required for sustaining the body is conducive to health only when it is con-sumed within limits. Over-eating poisons the physical system. Food may give satisfaction or cause illness. Food is essential, but it must be taken within a limit for it to be wholesome. Likewise, wealth is essential, but it should be within limits. When there is excessive wealth, many dangers ensue. Man turns arrogant and loses the sense of discrimination between right and wrong. Wealth and sacrifice should grow to-gether Together with the growth of one’s wealth, one’s spirit of sacrifice should grow commensurately. Increase in wealth should bring about an in-crease in generosity. These days wealth in-creases but not magnanimity. As man’s riches increase, he becomes more miserly. As a result he forgets his true nature. When money earned by honest means does not always confer happi-ness, how can you get happiness through money earned by dishonest means? Hence, it should be realized that excessive wealth can never confer peace or happiness. The greater your wealth, offer it for good causes to help others. Thereby, you will derive satisfaction. The second evil is passion for power. From the villager to the topmost man in the city, every-body is after power. Power carries with it limits and obligations. There are five kinds of power – power of knowledge, intellectual power, power of fame, power of character, and the power of sacrifice. Only the person who has all these five attributes should aspire for a position of author-ity. These days men conduct themselves in po-sitions of power without any understanding of


The Avatar And The Devotees - Birthday message

More effulgent than the Sun, Purer and whiter than the snow, Subtler than the space, The Supreme Self pervades everything, Holding everything within Him, Illumining everything by His consciousness; The Divine Brahman is in you And you are in the Brahman. There is no difference between you and Him.

how to exercise authority. In pursuit of power, they resort to any means – corrupt practices; sacrificing morality and justice; thereby under-mining law and order. Those who seek posi-tions of authority should recognize their obliga-tions. They should exercise power with due re-gard to the restraints to be observed. Thus, both wealth and power have to be used with re-straint. Divine bides for proper time to play His full role Even though the Divine has come down as an actor on the world stage, He is biding for the proper time to play His full role. A fruit takes time to ripen. When the fruit is ripe, it falls on its own accord. Likewise, when the time is ripe for one to reap the fruits of his actions, he must be ready to gather them according to the nature of one’s actions. It is one’s own actions that lead to good or bad results. Man’s mind is the cause of his bondage or liberation. Hence mind has to be turned towards the sacred path. It should be concentrated on actions of service to others. It should be devoted for the welfare of the others. Only then the purity of the mind ex-presses itself. To take offence when somebody criticizes you or to think of retaliation when one does harm to you, is not the right way of reach-ing to him or her. Consider whatever good or bad happens to you as the consequence of your own actions. Do not attribute them to acts of the Divine. God is like a postman. The postman delivers one letter to one address and the people in the house rejoice over the good news contained in it. He delivers another letter at a second house and there is a lamentation over the sad news contained in the letter. Is the postman responsi-ble for the joy or the sadness of the recipients of the letters? No. It is the contents of the respec-tive letters that is responsible. What you experi-ence by way of joy and grief is a consequence of your own actions. God is only a witness. Love is Sai’s most potent weapon Swami has been repeatedly declaring that im-mortality can be achieved only by sacrifice and not by deeds, wealth or progeny. How many are making any sacrifice? How many are putting Swami’s teaching into practice? What is it that I desire? Only one thing: Love, Love, and Love.

That is Sai’s most potent weapon. There is nothing that cannot be achieved in this world through Love. Through Love, even the Divine can be held in the palm of one’s hand. Eschew meat, liquor and smoking Today, let it be anyone, whether a devotee or not, he should give up meat eating. Why? Meat eating promotes animal qualities. The food one consumes determines one’s thoughts. By eating the flesh of various animals, the qualities of these animals are imbibed. How sinful to feed on animals which are sustained by the same five elements as human beings! This leads to demoniac tendencies besides committing the sin of inflicting cruelty to animals. Those who seek to become devotees of God have to give up non-vegetarian food. Next, is the question of drink. The water that one consumes is life giv-ing. It comes from the head of Shiva, and is sa-cred. Instead of such a wholesome drink, it is wrong to drink intoxicants. It makes man for-get his true nature; degrades the addict and makes him forget God. Many are also addicted to smoking tobacco. Today, cigarette smoking is one of the causes of many diseases like asthma, lung cancer, eosinophilia and heart ail-ments. It ruins ones health and shortens ones lifespan. Therefore, those who aspire to become true devotees of God have to give up meat, liq-uor and smoking. Embodiments of Love! As I was coming I was greeted by many wishing Me “Happy Birth-day”. I am always happy. Be happy yourselves. Your happiness is My happiness. Today, as an offering to Swami, give up meat eating, consuming liquor and smoking. By re-nouncing these, you will benefit yourselves, the


Dedicate Vehicle of Life to God The four goals of human life –Right living, right earning, right desiring and release from worldly bondage (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha) – are the wheels of the vehicle; the wheel inside that steers these four is the mind. The intellect is the switch. The air, which fills the tubes in the tires, is Faith and the destination is Ananda (Bliss). Ananda is the breath that sustains life. Therefore dedicate your thought word and deed to God.

Dedicate your lives to the Divine Christmas Message

society, as well as the nation. Renounce these bad practices from this moment. Do not put it off to tomorrow. The change must take place at the individual level. This can take place only through mental transformation and not by preaching to others. Each one has to recognize this truth and reform himself. Compiled from Divine Discourse on 23rd Nov. 1994 (S.S.

Speaks, Vol.27).

Faith, Determination, Courage and Intelli-gence, Energy and Valor – Wherever these six qualities exist, Divine protection is assured. These qualities cannot be acquired by mere education; nor can they be imparted by any pre-ceptor; nor can they be inherited from one's par-ents. They can be secured only by self-confidence. The first among the six qualities is Faith. In our daily experience, faith is evident from the sim-ple act of posting a letter. No one will send a letter by post if he did not have faith in the postal department. The address and the postage stamp on the letter are unaffected by distance. Likewise, God makes no distinction between those near to Him or remote from Him. One's faith should be properly addressed. The faith should be unwavering, total, and free from doubts of any kind. The letter of Faith has also to carry the stamp of Love. It should be selfless Love. When firm faith is associated with unsel-fish love, the prayers addressed to Bhagawan are bound to reach Him. In every field, firm faith is essential. Anyone who leaves home for

his office sets out with the confidence that he will return home in the evening. No one will embark on any undertaking unless at the outset he has the confidence that he can do the job. Faith is thus essential for every activity in life. The six inner enemies of man Besides, the six virtues mentioned above, man has also got six vices. The opposites of the six virtues are Desire, Anger, Greed, Fascination Pride, and Envy. The mind is the master of these vices. Man tries to train the mind to over-come these vices. But this is not easy for all. The reason is that, being unaware of how to control the mind, man becomes an easy prey to its vagaries. Everyone should strive to find out how to use the mind in any situation, at any time and in any circumstance. Anger, hatred, and envy poison the mind of man, and conse-quently, every action of man gets poisoned. All sensory actions gets equally polluted. To trans-form these evil thoughts and actions into good ones, it is necessary to infuse love into all thoughts and actions. When the mind is filled with Love, all actions get suffused with Love.


Human Values are the natural mothers.The first mother is Sathyam (Truth). The second mother is Dharmam (Righteousness). The third is Prema (Love). The fourth is Shanthi (Peace). Man must live in such a manner that he pleases all the four mothers.

Way to Divinize Man Today man is totally unaware of what is meant by Love. Man equates desire with Love. He imagines that whatever he yearns for is prompted by Love. This is not the true Love (Prema). Prema is totally free from desire. It is utterly selfless. It seeks no return. It is all en-compassing. It makes no distinction between friend and foe. Forgetting this concept of universal selfless love, filling himself with selfish desires, man fancies that he is filled with Love. This is mun-dane attachment. It is quite different from the Love that flows from the Spirit inside. Spiritual Love is boundless. It is free from the feeling of hatred. It is vital to fill the mind with Love and expel the six enemies residing in it. Every part of the body should be filled with Divine Love. That is the way to divinize man. Fill the heart with Love & render ser-vice Many people imagine that to divinize man and make him a godly being is a superhuman exer-cise. This is not so. Divine Love is within the competence of man. Divine Love should not be considered as something transcendental or alien to man. But men tend to degrade this love by giving it different forms and names and degrade themselves. Convert anger into Love. Turn ha-tred into Love. To effect this change what is needed is a change of heart-filling it with Love. When the heart is filled with Love, the whole world becomes loveable. The mind is restless and fickle. All troubles that afflict man stem from the mind. The thoughts arising from the mind are the cause of human birth. Man takes birth to experience fulfillment of his desires. Hence, it is necessary for man to make his desires sublime. He should seek to know what could make his life ideal and exem-plary. He should not act in haste on every im-pulse of the mind. It is said that the body is a prerequisite for the achievement of righteous-ness. Man is endowed with a body to render service to others. Therefore, while discharging his duties, man should also render service to others. Human Values are the natural mothers Mankind has no bounds or barriers. In fact, there are no barriers between humanity and

every other species of living beings like birds, beasts and insects and even trees. All of them belong to a single family of living beings. In the Tree of Life, man appears in many forms-as animals, birds and insects. In all these forms, he experiences his Divine essence. For every man there are four natural mothers. The first mother is Sathyam (Truth). The sec-ond mother is Dharmam (Righteousness). The third is Prema (Love). The fourth is Shanthi (Peace). Man must live in such a manner that he pleases all the four mothers. Man, however, has given up these four sacred mothers and adores four others who are adopted mothers. Who are they? Injustice, Immorality, unrighteousness and falsehood - these are the adopted mothers. As a result, man is a prey to many difficulties. Man, who ought to adhere to Truth, Right Con-duct, and Love, has become a creature of injus-tice, and untruth. As a result of abandoning one's natural mothers and clinging to unnatural relationships, man is leading a polluted life and forfeiting peace. True Message of Jesus There were controversies regarding Jesus. These differences were the cause of the ordeals he had to go through. But Jesus was prepared to face any trouble or any penalty. He considered Compassion as the supreme quality. At first, he declared he was a "Messenger of God" Then, he announced: "I am the Son of God." Ulti-mately he declared: "I and my Father are one." You must take note of this oneness. You must proclaim your oneness and not your diver-sity. The true significance of these three state-ments is: “To love God is to be His messenger.” To be loved by God is to be a Son of God. The final state is to be one with God. This means that they should divinize themselves. When can men call themselves “Sons of God?” Recognize what pure actions are done by God, selflessly for the sake of all. There is no trace of self-interest in Him. Everything that He does, says or thinks is for the good of others. On the other hand, everything that men do, speak or think is born out of selfishness. To call yourself, the “Son of God,” you have to manifest the quali-ties of the Father. In every discourse, Swami speaks about Love. How many practice it? How many have tried to understand the Love Principle? Who has this


Every month the Sun moves from one house in the zodiac to the next. This movement is called Sankramana. In a year, the Sun transits twelve houses of the Zodiac. Of these movements, four are important. The first one, (the Summer Equi-nox) relating to the entry of the Sun into Capri-corn from Sagittarius, is the most important of all the four. This marks the apparent movement of the Sun from the south to the north. The northward movement of the Sun (Uttharayana) is considered highly significant, both spiritually and scientifically. It has immense spiritual meaning. Turn your vision inward The inner meaning of the Sun’s northward jour-ney has to be properly understood. The north is represented by Himaachala [the Himalayas]. ‘Hima’ means snow. It is pure, untainted and extremely cool. All these endow it with the quality of perfect peace. ‘Achala’ means that which is steady and unshakeable. Himaachala does not refer to the physical Himalayan region.

It represents that which is cool, peaceful and steady. From today, the Sun is said to move to-wards such a state. The Sun symbolizes the vi-sion of man. The northward movement of the Sun is a call to human beings to turn their vi-sion towards that which is cool, peaceful and unchanging, meaning that men should direct their vision inwards. This is the lesson taught by the Sun. Man’s vision should not, be confined solely to the external objects and worldly things which are transient and perishable. Man has been given this vision so that he may see the pure, sacred Divine consciousness abiding in his heart. The northward motion of the Sun is the appropriate occasion for developing this inward vision. This is the royal road for the spiritual aspirant to realize the Supreme. This is the pe-riod for cherishing sacred thoughts and per-forming holy deeds. The sages and seers of an-cient times used to wait for the arrival of this period to embark on their sacred tasks. The


Love? Love is not to be seen anywhere. Purity and Divinity Where there is Love, there is no room for ha-tred. Do not be envious of anyone. When this evil quality appears, Love takes to flight. A pure heart is the abode of Love. Where there is Purity, there is Unity. Unity leads to Divinity. Today Purity is absent. How, then, do you real-ize Divinity? You must offer everything to God without any desire. Dedicate all yours to God. This was the teaching of Jesus. He considered everything as an offering to God. Sing the glories of God and serve others All mouths are the mouths of God. The scrip-tures proclaim that the Divine has a myriad head and myriad eyes and myriad feet. This means that all heads are His, all eyes are His and all feet are His. God is infinite. Man is fi-nite. The infinite Divine must be loved with

boundless Love. God’s love is limitless and un-diminishing. It is ever pure and unsullied. You must serve everyone with s loving heart. Christ was the victim of envious persons who were opposed to His teaching and who leveled accusations against Him. Devotees of God should not mind the criticisms of envious per-sons. All good people have to face such trou-bles. They should treat everything as good. The essence of all creeds is one and the same thing. Man's primary duty is to surrender to God. "Surrender," means attaining the state in which the devotees feels he is one with God. This feeling arises out of the conviction that the same Divinity is present in all. Bodies of human beings are varied like bulbs, but the current passing through them is the same. The color of the bulbs or their wattage may vary. But the current activating them is the same.

Compiled from Bhagawan’s Christmas discourses (S.S.Speaks – Vol. 27 & Vol. 30.)

Spiritual significance of Sankaraanthi

great warrior Bheeshma lay on a bed of arrows for 56 days on the battlefield, awaiting the arri-val of this period as the right time for giving up the ghost. The scriptures have declared that those who pass on during this time have no re-birth. This does not mean that one should hang himself in Uttharayana in the hope of securing freedom from rebirth! The right way to give up one's life is to fill one’s mind with holy thoughts and let the end come in the natural course. Man should abide by the laws of the Creator This illustrates how the ancients attempted to sanctify every holy festival by dedicating them-selves to the chanting of God's name and to other spiritual activities. Youths today should realize that festivals are not intended for feast-ing and pompous celebration but for concentra-tion on devotional activities. For mankind, the Sun is the most important entity in creation. When the Sun himself is proceeding north-wards, why should not humanity direct its vi-sion Godward? Men today are a prey to many troubles because their vision is diverted towards ungodly objects. Man should abide by the laws of the Creator. Otherwise humanity is doomed. Religious festivals are observed all over the world for the purpose of raising humanity to a higher level of consciousness and conduct. This is a season of Joy From this day, the Sun wears a peaceful and pleasing aspect. The nights get longer and the days become shorter. The day marks the begin-ning of the harvest season. As the crops are brought home, the granaries are full and joy reigns everywhere. A cool breeze blows all the time. Farmers sing with full-throated joy from their fields in the moonlight. The cold dew-drops on the fields shine like garlands of gems. The chrysanthemums are in full bloom. This month, is noted for the peacefulness, prosperity and joy, which it brings with it. Hence it is re-garded with special distinction. Unless men give up their bad thoughts and actions, the month, however great in itself, will be of no avail. The observance of Sankaraanthi should be marked by spiritual transformation of the people and not by lavish feasting and revelry. This is a day of dedication! Become whole, by

wholesome deeds and thoughts; that is the mes-sage of the holy day. These holy days are re-minders of the discipline, which you have strayed away from. It is a grim world, from out of which you have to squeeze yourself out, into freedom and fulfillment. A train whistling past in full speed over the rails drawn by a giant lo-comotive cannot be stopped by a million hands; but by merely pressing a button, the driver can bring it to a halt! Installing that button, that mechanism in your mind that rolls along behind the senses is the purpose of sadhana; installing and operating it. The knowledge that you are the architect of your fortune and that you can, by steady effort, re-build it or foster it, that you are ever laying on or pulling down the structure of your career, will be a great inspiration, provided you welcome it. The universe itself is a university The universe is itself a university, in which every human being is a student. Every student pursues one subject and acquires a degree. Each one chooses a subject he likes. But whatever different subjects they may study, there is one thing common to all of them, one common pur-suit and goal: to obtain the degree of Divine love. In the cosmic university, though there are scientific, political, economic and other studies, what is fundamental to all of them is the spiri-tual knowledge. Even in the spiritual field there are special subjects. There is one group, which may be described as the five D's: Dedication, Devotion, Discipline, Discrimination and De-termination. Those who have mastered the five D's are qualified to receive God's Love. The five D’s Dedication, the first ‘D’ means offering. As soon as Swami arrived, teachers and students made offerings of flowers and offered their salutations. The flower symbolizes the heart. When you offer the flower of your heart to the

Those who have mastered the five D's are qualified to

receive God's Love.


Lord, it should be free from the pest of desire, hatred, envy, greed and the like. Only flowers are offered to the Lord or those whom you re-vere. The flower of the heart is subject to infes-tation by two evil creatures: One is self-conceit; the other is envy. Self-conceit is based on eight different factors: wealth, physical prowess, birth, scholarship, beauty, power and penance. Of these, the arrogance born of wealth is to be despised most. As long as this self-conceit is predominant, it is impossible to recognize the Divine or one's spiritual reality. Self-conceit is a great barrier between the individual and God. It has to be utterly demolished. Pride of wealth is another human failing, which causes the downfall of man. All forms of pride, based on birth, wealth, power or scholarship have to be given up totally. Only when egoistic pride is offered as a sacrifice at the altar of the Divine can man discover his true nature. This is the Dedication that is called for as the first step in the spiritual journey. Devotion is the highest form of love. Devotion means constant Contemplation of God. The term Bhakti is derived from the root Bhaj (to worship). Devotion means loving con-templation of God, repetition of His name, wor-shipping Him and doing penance for Him. Ser-vice to the Lord is the highest expression of de-votion. There is nothing, which is not attainable through loving service to the Divine. Devotion does not mean merely doing bhajans or per-forming prayer. These forms of devotion at pre-sent are based on some kind of self-interest and self - seeking. True devotion should be free from selfishness of any kind. Devotion is not something to be proclaimed or demonstrated. Exhibitionistic devotion may result in disaster. True devotion should be an expression of love both internally and externally. Discipline is essential This is most essential for students. From the moment you wake up, you have to carry out your morning ablutions, medi-tate on God and then do your prescribed duties in an orderly manner without de-viating from the regular routine. Varia-tions in the routine from day to day are undesirable. You should not wake up at one hour on one day and at a different

time on another day. The day's activities should be regulated by the same schedule. Immediately after finishing the morning chores, one should devote, in the calm and serene at-mosphere of the morn-ing, at least a few min-utes to loving medita-tion on God. The hu-man estate is based upon regulation and self-control. These have to be strictly adhered to in daily life. Discrimination comes from the intellect The world is a mixture of good and bad, of joy and sorrow, right and wrong, victory and de-feat. In a world replete with such opposites, man has to constantly make the choice between what is right and proper and what is wrong and undesirable. Man should not let himself be guided by the mind. He should follow the direc-tions of Buddhi [intelligence]. As long as you follow the mind, you cannot obtain Divinity. Young people in their tender years tend to fol-low the inclinations of the mind. They do not rise to the level of their intelligence. Conse-quently, they are subject to various agitations and frustrations. They have, therefore, to learn to use their powers of discrimination. "I am a human being. In this condition how should I conduct myself so that I may win the respect and regard of others?" These are the questions that each student must ask himself. He should enquire on every occasion as to what is the right course and what is to be avoided. He should decide on what he should do and where he should go after due enquiry. Having acquired knowledge, he should not behave like an illiter-ate, uneducated person. His conduct should be in keeping with his learning. Humility is the

index of true education. Without hu-mility, scholarship will lack luster. Dis-crimination is essential for every stu-dent and educated man. Be Firm in your Determination It is like the reins of a horse. When you want to achieve something, you must have the determination and persistence to secure it by all your efforts. No room should be given for doubts and hesita-


'WHOEVER speaks, the expression begins with ‘I’ and revolves around ‘I’. ‘I’ am walking, ‘I’ am sitting, ‘I am eating’, ‘I am going’, ‘I’ am listening’ ‘I am seeing’ – ‘I’ is ever forward. Man cannot live without this ‘I’. ‘I’ am the doer, whatever the deed, whichever and when-ever. Who exactly is this ‘I’, the doer? There are three aspects connoted by the ‘I’. ‘I am this body’ is the first; ‘I am the life-force in it’ is the second; ‘I am the Atma (Divine Self)' is the third. ‘I am dark’, ‘I am fair’, ‘I am short’, ‘I am tall’, ‘I am young,’ ‘I am old’ - these are statements that are generally made. These qualities concern the body only. When a person is unconscious or

in deep sleep, or dead, he is not aware of any of these characterizations regarding his body. They are extraneous to the real ‘I’, for the at-tributes adhere or fall off when time elapses or when circumstances change. Next, is the Jeeva (individual being) principle or Life Force: The incessantly active conscious-ness is ever wayward and restless. We say, ‘My intelligence is not clear,’ ‘My mind is per-plexed.’ These apply to the second facet of the ‘I’ only. It is also linked with the body through the objects-senses-mind-reason complex. Now, the third, the Atma (Divine Soul): ‘I am Sadhaanandh, Nithyaanandh, Sathchithaan-andh! I am all. I am Brahman.’ The body is mortal; the Jeeva-principle undergoes transfor-

tions. There is nothing on earth that cannot be achieved with firm determination. Starting with Dedication, you end with Determination. There is no use relying solely on book knowledge or mere intellectual cleverness. There must be firm faith in God as the basis of everything. There is one kind of pest, which affects the leaves and branches of a tree. There is another, which de-stroys the root of a tree. Likewise, a hypocrite is a human pest who can spoil a good man. The hypocrite is not merely an actor. He poses as a devotee externally, but is really evil-minded. He leads a double life. It is dangerous to associ-ate with such persons. Many good men in the world have come to grief because of the asso-ciation with such pretenders. Worldly and Divine Love Love is of two kinds: One related to the physi-cal and the other related to the Divine. All the fears and delusions afflicting the world, all the chaos and violence prevalent today are primar-ily due to physical attachments. Divine love knows no differences among individuals and

nations. Egoistic attachments and selfishness are the root of all human troubles and conflicts. Physical love should be confined to strict limits. If the Divine consciousness were not present within, of what use would the body be? It would be as useless as a school without teach-ers, a farm without water, a temple without a deity. You must develop Divine love. You must be resolute in striving to achieve what you aim at. Only then will your devotion and discipline bear fruit. There is no meaning in parading one's devotion. The external human form has no significance. You must be human in your ac-tions and feelings. By reforming your conduct and purifying your thoughts and actions, sanc-tify your lives. That alone is true education, which will lead to Self-realization.

Compiled from Bhagawan’s Sankaraanthi Discourses in 1971-SSS Vol.11; 1988 -SSS Vol.21; and 1994 - SSS

Vol.27.

Unity and Purity - Message of Ramzan


mation; but the Atma is Immortal. The Atma persists in unaffected glory in the waking, dreaming, sleeping and the fourth level be-yond. The gross body is active in the waking stage; the subtle I-consciousness is alert in dreams, the Causal Atma is dormant as ‘I’ in sleep. The real ‘I’ or Atma has no exclusive affiliation to one body, one country, one nation or one sex. It is in every being everywhere, in bird and beast, plant and tree. The Atma is all pervading and immanent in India, Russia, America, and all over the world. Meaning of Islam All founders of religions have heard this imper-sonal Voice of God revealing the Atma that ac-tivates the entire Creation. Just as the Vedas (revealed sacred scriptures) were 'heard' and propagated as 'heard', the Quran too was 'heard' by Hazrath Muhammad. The Quran has Salat and Zakat as the two eyes. Salat means prayer; Zakat means charity. Those who consider char-ity as a high duty and elevate their conscious-ness through prayers and continuous meditation on God are Muslims. Islam is a word, which denotes not a particular religion but a state of mind, the state of total surrender to the Will of God. Islam means dedication, surrender, peace, and tranquility.

Islam denotes the social community whose members have achieved supreme peace through surrender to the All Merciful, All-Powerful God and who have vowed to live in peace with their fellowmen. Later, it came to be applied to com-munities that considered themselves separate and different and so, hostile to the rest. Islam taught something higher. It directed attention to the One in the Many, the Unity in Diversity and led people to the Reality named God.

The Atma can never be hurt Every human being has three needs - food, clothing and shelter. Seeking to fulfill them, man has developed a variety of foods to fill his little stomach ignoring the purpose of eating. Clothing has to be

worn to protect the body from cold. But we are attaching enormously exaggerated value to clothing. Of course, one must have a house to live in and lay the body down for rest. The Muslim, Gibran, asks why build these gigantic dwellings then? They are erected not for oneself but to hoard one's treasure and riches. Gibran says these mansions are tombs erected by the dead for the living. Hazrath Muhammad announced the message of God that he had heard to the townsmen of Mecca. At that time, people did not give heed to the Divine Declarations. They forced him to leave the place. But, Hazrath Muhammad knew that truth will win and God will prevail. He knew that insult and injury were only for the body; the Atma can never be hurt. The Ramzan month is set apart for the holy task of bringing into memory and practice the teach-ings that Hazrath Muhammad conveyed and attaining that stage of unity and purity which is truly Divine. Islam gives importance to the Moon, which regulates the months. Hindus con-sider the Moon as the deity presiding over the mind. With the darshan of the New Moon, the Ramzan fast begins and when the New Moon is seen again, the fast ends. 'Fast' does not consist in merely desisting from food and drink. It starts at sunrise and is broken only after sunset and is observed most rigorously. During Ramzan the constant presence of God is to be experienced Waking up as early as three or four, in the early morning, prayer is started, and throughout the day, the constant presence of God is sought to be experienced. This is the meaning of fast. Also, during the Ramzan month, rivalry is avoided, hatred is suspended, husband and wife live apart though in the same home, mother and children both follow the same spiritual regimen and an atmosphere of brotherhood is main-


The Quran lays down that all men should cultivate the sense of unity, of in-terdependence, of selfless love and of the

immanence of Divinity.

tained. The body, the senses and the mind are subject to rigorous discipline. Periods of fast comprising a month are pre-scribed in all religions. The Hindus observe it in Maagha and Shraavana months. Zoroastrians and Christians have allotted for themselves months for the same purpose. The Quran lays down that all men should culti-vate the sense of unity, of interdependence, of selfless love and of the immanence of Divinity. Generally, all men take food of some kind or other for the body five times a day: an early cup of coffee in bed, breakfast two hours later, a heavy lunch at noon, tea at four and a fat dinner at nine. Islam prescribes food for the spiritual nature of man and directs that it be taken five times a day, as prayer. For the arousal of the Atmic consciousness, for earning spiritual joy and for promoting the manifestation of Atmic illumination, prayer is prescribed as many as five times a day, from the dawn of discretion up to the moment of death. Unity is the basic teaching Prayer, in Islam, is also a congregational activ-ity. Prayer in a group produces beneficial vibra-tions. Islam promises a greater flow of ecstasy when God is adored by a huge concourse of yearning hearts. All of them bow low at the sight of the Masjid. They sit in rows, with their knees bent and lean forward until their palms and foreheads touch the ground in humble sub-mission to God's Will. Misunderstanding, and conflict should not disturb the serenity of the occasion. Thus, Islam emphasizes the One in the Many, the urge for God, which manifests in various degrees in various minds. Unity is the basic teaching of every religion. Faith in Unity is car-dinal. Without it, no system of belief and con-duct can be a religion. God is One and the teachings in all faiths that exalt Him are all on love, compassion, tolerance and sympathy. The tragedy is neither the Mohammedans, nor the Hindus, nor the followers of other religions are practicing these qualities in daily life. Islam teaches that God's Grace can be won through justice and righteous living; wealth, scholarship and power cannot earn it. Holy Love alone can please the Lord. This is the message of every religion. But mankind has ig-

nored this crucial point. Ramzan brings together in bonds of love, kith and kin, near and far, friend and foe. This type of negligence is hap-pening in every religion. The followers adopt the rules they like and break those which they find exacting. So, they become narrow - minded and crooked. And, they rationalize their defects and justify their failings. They have become habituated to this practice of self-deceit. Demonstrate love and tolerance daily Since Islam means surrender to God, all those living in a spirit of surrender and dedication, peace and harmony in society, do really speak-ing belong to Islam. Islam insists on full co-ordination between thought, word and deed. Muslim holy men and sages have been empha-sizing that we must inquire into the validity of the 'I' which feels it is the body and the 'I' which feels it is the mind and reach the conclusion that the real 'I' is the Self, yearning for the Omniself God. The Ramzan month, the fast and the prayers are designed to awaken and manifest this realization. Whichever may be the religion, its emphasis is on unity, harmony, and equal-mindedness. Therefore, cultivate love, tolerance and compassion, and demonstrate the Truth in every daily activity. This is the Message I give you with My Blessings.

Discourse on Ramzan, Prashaanthi Nilayam, 12-7-1983 SSSpeaks Volume 16.

Islam teaches that God's Grace can be won through justice and

righteous living; wealth, scholarship and power cannot

earn it.


Mixed Vegetable Rice 4 glasses (250 ml each) long grain rice washed 2 teaspoons ginger & garlic paste 10 - 12 small green chilies 6 - 8 cloves 4 cardamoms a pinch of turmeric powder small piece of cinnamon 1 big onion (cut into long thin slices) 1 carrot (cut into small cubes) 1 potato (cut into medium size cubes) 1 tomato (cut into small pieces) ¼ cup beans a bunch of mint leaves (optional) 4 table spoons cooking oil Salt Pour 4 tablespoons of cooking oil into a heavy bottom pan, large enough for the preparation and heat. Add green chilies, cardamom, cloves and cinnamon first. Add the long thin slices of onion with a pinch of turmeric powder and fry till golden brown. Now add all the vegetables and keep frying for about 2 to 3 minutes. Add the ginger and garlic paste, and the pre-washed rice, fry for a minute. Add 4 ½ glasses (250 ml each) of water and a little salt to taste. You may add mint leaves now if you wish. Let this simmer for about 20 minutes with the lid closed. Check every five minutes or so that the water does not dry up. Once the water is completely absorbed the vegetable rice is ready to serve.

Corn Cobs in Yogurt Sauce 4 nos. fresh corns boiled in salty water green chili paste (according to your taste) ginger paste salt to taste 1 cup yogurt mix with about 1 and ½ cup of water 2 tbsp of corn flour (to thicken) cumin powder sugar to taste 2 tablespoons oil 1 teaspoon cumin seeds ½ teaspoon mustard seeds pinch of turmeric powder 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves In a deep pan, heat oil then add cumin and mustard seeds. As the seeds splutter, add chili paste and ginger and sauté for about 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the yogurt mix, followed by all the other ingredients and corn pieces. Boil well, and then simmer on a low flame until the mix-ture looks like gravy. Remove from stove then add cilantro before serving.

SATWIC


As is the food, so is the mind; As is the mind, so are the thoughts; As are the thoughts, so is the conduct; As is the conduct, so is the Health. Man today is a victim of Worry. Worry, Hurry and Curry (fatty foods) are the root causes of ailments.

Here is a story emphasizing the importance of doing work with full involvement. This is a sad-hana because of the perfection and purity of action. Work is Worship In a remote hamlet lived a sculptor, Vishwa-karma who specialized in creating God’s im-ages. His talent gave light and life to stones. He began his day early, offered prayers to the idol he was carving and to his tools, and bathed in the river after making a mud idol on the banks. One day a Brahmin saw the sculptor crafting his mud idol. He asked him what he was doing. To this he replied, “I am a sculptor, but the sculptor is what is in me.” He narrated his story about how he started learning his trade at the age of five and how he progressed. The Brah-min wanted to see the sculptor’s works. At the sculptor’s house, the Brahmin was as-tounded to see a four foot tall idol of Lord Shiva with mother Parvati sitting on his lap. The poor sculptor garlanded the idol with bilva leaves and laid a few flowers. The Brahmin, astounded by the beauty of the idol, wanted to know its price. The sculptor said, “Forgive me sir, this idol of the Lord was my first creation, so please do not ask me for it.” The Brahmin understood and did not press him. One day, he told his good friend, Vyasa, about the sculptor, his humility, and his brilliance. To bring alive on stone, Shiva, which even the scriptures could not describe, was no minor feat. Vyasa was not impressed because of his own ego, but he could not understand how his friend was extolling a sculptor. That night he dreamt of a mendicant advising him to meet the sculp-tor, ‘Who is your master.’ Vyasa did not be-lieve this, but went to meet Vishwakarma. He found Vishwakarma deep in prayer and offering bilva leaves to the Lord with great love. He called out loudly. The sculptor bowed to the Lord and said, “My Lord, someone is calling me. Please excuse me. You will always wait for me, but the person who has come, time will

take him away.” He then asked Vyasa the purpose of his visit. Vyasa said, “I am a teacher, you are a sculptor.” Viswakarma replied, “No sir, I am my master’s servant.” Vyasa was feeling repulsive seeing the dust and dirt but his eyes fell on the beauti-ful idol and he wanted to have it. In all humility the sculptor said he would make any idol he wished, but could not part with this idol. After some thought, the egotistic Vyasa, said, “Since you are so greatly devoted to your Lord, we shall have a test. I will question you on the ba-sics of Vedanta, and if you can question me, you may. If I win, I get the idol, and if you win, I shall become your disciple.” The sculptor was stupefied and had no option but to accept to the debate. The next morning the debate started. Vyasa be-gan, “Since you are a poor man, I shall ask you what you consider as richness?” The sculptor replied, “There is richness in being poor. Only when I am poor, can I expect to be rich. My Fa-ther showers His love on me which is beyond words or richness.” The next question was tougher; “What does Shiva itself mean?” The sculptor replied, “You see in this sculpture an object created from nothing. But, to an artist, it is the subject of thought – that is Shiva, because He is both that which is life and lifeless; with and without form.” The third question was, “What is wisdom? Do you want it?” Vishwa-karma replied, “Wisdom is a tool that I use to create something that I want. You asked if I want it, I have no choice because my Father showers it on me. It is because He is merciful that the thought arises, that the tool works, that the stone takes shape. If He does not exist, my name will not be Vishwakarma, it will only just be Karma or action without reason.” Vyasa fell at the sculptor’s feet and said: “You are truly ‘Vishwakarma’, great in action, and hence, I will become your disciple.” The sculp-tor said: “Since you are so fond of my sculp-ture, I wish to give it to you.” He gave Vyasa

(Continued on page 18)


S tudy A ct Inspire YOUTH Page

The Jealous Brother There was a mother who had two sons; she loved them both equally. As the elder son grew older he was able to do many things by himself, so naturally, she did not have to give him as much attention as when he was small - while the younger one, needed to be watched con-stantly and have everything done for him. The elder son did not understand this and started thinking that his mother loved his brother more and cared only for him. Jealousy took root in the young boy's heart, and gradu-ally it grew into a huge tree. He was full of an-ger and hatred. He became sullen and disobedi-ent and his schoolwork started to go downhill. He fell in with bad friends and developed bad habits. His parents tried to reason with him, but he would not listen. Convinced that he had been cheated, he ap-proached his father and demanded his share of the inheritance. His father begged him, but he would not listen. He left home; fell into bad

habits; became a drunkard and a drug addict. As soon as his money ran out, all his friends de-serted him and he started to steal. He was caught and put in prison. Once released from the prison, he could not get a job. All he could do was to beg for his food and sleep in the gut-ter. The younger brother did well in school. He went to university and eventually became a doctor. He got married and began a family of his own. He never forgot his brother and there was always a part of him that was sad that things had worked out that way. One day the younger brother was driving back from work when he saw a filthy man, who looked ill, beg-ging in the street. Filled with pity, he stopped his car and took him to his house. He asked him to have a bath, gave him food and clothes and treated him with medicine. He asked him what his story was. "It is because of my brother that I am like this," the elder brother said, and the elder brother told his story. He expressed such hatred for his brother whom he claimed had

Serve Man, Serve God Once upon a time, there lived a poor, old cob-bler named Martin. He had just enough food to eat every day. But he had a kind heart and he loved God. One day, God appeared in his dream and told him that He would visit him the next day and asked Martin to keep some-thing nice for Him to eat. Martin got up the next morning, and used all his money to buy vegetables. He made a tasty broth for the Lord. Looking out of the window, Martin saw an old man shivering in the cold outside. Martin gave the old man his blanket and the only cup of tea he had made for himself. Then came an old woman, nearly fainting with hunger. Martin gave her a part of the warm broth he had made for God and some fruits. She blessed him and left. Then he heard a baby crying. Looking out, he saw a

poor mother weeping because she had no milk to give her hungry baby. Martin gave her all the milk he had. The child smiled at him after

drinking the milk. It was get-ting dark. Martin was very sad. Now, even if God came, he only had a little cold broth to give Him, not even milk or fruits. He begged God to for-give him. Suddenly, he heard footsteps outside and a strange light en-tered his room. In that light, there appeared and passed be-fore him, the shivering old man, the starving old woman and the mother with the hun-gry baby. Then, in that beauti-ful light, Martin heard God’s voice say, “It was I! It was I!

It was I.” And the light vanished! God blessed Martin because he had served the poor.

‘Garden of life’ by Radhika Krishna Kumar

CHILDREN’S CORNER


The end of Education is Character


(Continued from page 16) his cherished idol and had one request, “Take this idol, wash it in water; come back and tell me what you see.” Vyasa returned only to see Vishwakarma miss-ing. Instead, he found his tools and a scroll, which read; “By God’s grace, I have found my real Self through complete iden-tity with my work.” He had self-realization. This is true Work and Worship where you see nothing but the Supreme in what you do. His grace guides you, drives you on, and even liberates you. -condensed from Tattvaloka, July `99

The Three Dolls Once there lived a king famed for his wisdom and encouragement of scholars and artists. Many flocked to his court to exhibit their skills and be rewarded. Many flocked to his court to exhibit their skills and be rewarded. Some would also come to test the king and encourage in scholarly debates, more to enjoy his intelli-gence than to outwit him. One day a craftsman brought three beautiful dolls to the court. All the dolls looked alike. He placed them before the king and said, "O King, please examine them well and pick the best, the worst, and the one in between." The king held the dolls and looked at them very carefully. They looked exactly the same. Suddenly the king noticed that one doll had holes in both ears. He put a thin wire through one hole. The wire came out through the other hole. In the next doll, the king found a hole in one ear and a hole in the mouth. When he inserted the wire through the hole in the ear, it came out through the mouth. In the last doll, the king found a hole only in the ear and nowhere else. When he put the wire into that hole, it went in and remained there. The king thought for a while. He then con-

gratulated the craftsman saying, “You are very clever. Your art spreads a wise message to the people. These three dolls represent three types of friends. Every man needs a true friend to help him in difficulties, listen to him with kind-ness and keep his secrets”. The first doll stands for the worst kind of friend. If you pour out your troubles to him, he only pretends to listen. What he hears passes out of his head without leaving any impression on his mind. He cannot help anyone. With him, there is no love and trust. The second doll stands for the second-rate friend. He may listen to you kindly but he could be dangerous because your secrets will soon reach others. That is why the wire went in through the ear and came out through the mouth. With this friend, there is love but no trust because he cannot keep secrets. The third doll stands for the best kind of friend. Whatever you tell such a friend, he will listen carefully and kindly. He will try to help you and never talk about what you say to others. You are safe with him because in such a friend-ship there is both love and trust." The king rewarded the craftsman for his beauti-ful dolls and the craftsman praised the king for his wisdom.

- Garden of life by Radhika Krishna kumar

(Continued from page 17) taken his mother away from him. The younger brother soon realized that this was his long lost brother. However it was not the time to reveal the truth to him. He kept his brother with him, showering him with love and kindness, gradually healing him physi-cally and emotionally. Many days passed, gradually the elder brother became more peaceful. One day his younger brother was able to tell him who he was and make him un-derstand that his real enemies were not his parents or his brother, but his own thoughts. At last he understood that it was in fact he himself who had ruined his own life. After accepting this, he was ready to start again.

- Taken from ‘Sathya Sai Education in Human Values’ - a publication of ISSE, Thailand


Dhyana provides rest for the wayward mind The clock to all appearances keeps on ticking away continuously. But this is really not the case. It is not continuous, for there is, one can notice, a short pause between one tick and the next. That is the interval of rest. But, the mind does not have even this short interval between one thought and the next. And in the continuous succession of thoughts, there is no order or rela-tionship. Meditation is the name for the period of rest we provide for the busy and wayward mind. Just as the body needs food, exercise, and sleep for its proper functioning, so also, the mind needs “meditation” for its proper function. Brahman assumes the form of one who has at-tributes and comes into this world and resides in every being, in everything. It is not possible to see Him separately with your eyes, it is not possible to get hold of Him separately with your hands, but it is only possible to cognize Him by experiencing Him in the state of the world. You cannot do anything more with your gross body than to experience Brahman who is omnipresent and all pervading. The proc-ess of seeking the ONE without attributes and without Form, is called Meditation. The three stage steps in Dhyana They are Concentration, Contemplation and Meditation and unless these are crossed, one does not get into the real Dhyana. Many take meditation as some sort of concentration, to be able to think or con-centrate on one object alone. This sort of con-centration is not meditation at all. For e.g. I am now reading the newspaper. My hands are hold-ing the paper; my eyes are looking at the printed contents of the news. My mind is trying to grasp and my intellect is trying to understand and digest the essence of the news. Unless all these functions are going on simultaneously, in a synchronized manner, I cannot grasp into my

mind what I am trying to read. The hand hold-ing the paper is a limb of the body. The eyes that see it are a sense organ. The intellect that understands and the memory that ruminates are equally sense organs. For reading the paper, all my five senses have to be put into operation. Gearing up of all senses into action is concen-tration, which is within the sphere of the senses. Senses are to be silenced and put out of func-tion, for Dhyana. While concentration is a func-tion or activity which is subordinate to the senses, meditation is a process or a stage tran-scending the senses. In between concentration and meditation, there is actually another stage/step to be crossed; this is called contemplation. Contemplation is the second half of chith (intelligence), whose other function is discrimi-nation between right and wrong.

Take the example of a rose flower. It originates from the rose plant, which has branches, stems, leaves, thorns, buds and flowers. Unless we concentrate on all the components of the rose plant, we will not know where the flower is actually located. But the flower has to be plucked without touching the thorns. Locating the rose involves concentration. Then, we proceed to pluck the

flower. Separating it from the plant, while taking care not to injure our hands by the

thorns, is contemplation. Offering this flower for worship at the Feet of the Lord, is meditation—the final step. Our body itself is like the rose plant—with its stems, branches and leaves etc; the desires flooding our mind are like the thorns and the flower represents our heart, with its devotion, love and yearning for God. When we offer the flower of Love, our heart—separating it from the other parts of the plant (freeing it from the thorns of lust)—as worship unto Him like the rose flower offered at the Feet of the Lord; this the act of unification, is meditation.

DHYANA – Meditation


The purpose of medi-tation is to separate the rose of selfless Love from the senses and offer it to the Lord.

Three aspects of Dhyana They are the Subject (the meditator), the Object of meditation (God), and the act and process, i.e. the rapport that the Subject is trying to estab-lish with the Object of his meditation. When these coalesce together and merge into one, this unified experience (without the experiencer be-ing conscious of himself) is real meditation. Why Light Meditation For meditation, whichever Form of the Lord you may choose; they are ultimately not the true and Eternal Form of the Lord. Some may say, “Well, we like Rama, we like Krishna, we like Christ, He is our God. Why not meditate on one of these Forms?” But a shape or a particular form is not a permanent thing. That is a chang-ing thing; that is also a fleeting thing. It is not right that you should put your concentration on something, which will change, which is not per-manent. You must have something, which does not change. That is why you have to take the light. God is essentially beyond all Names and Forms. Whichever Forms of God we conceived were only temporary vestures God had donned and were not His eternal nature and Form. In view of this fact, our ancestors conceived the idea of Jyothi [light] as a nearer and truer representative of the Nature of God and as a better-suited object for meditation. God is the nature of Effulgence and light is thus the most appropriate symbol of His Real Nature. Further, light is a universally revered symbol, acceptable to people of all religions, faiths and countries. Take the example of a water storage drum, which is filled, to the brim. If each one begins taking out a glassful of water from it, the drum will, sooner or later, run empty. Likewise, from a pile of sand, when each one starts collecting a handful of sand, the heap of sand will eventually get exhausted and disappear completely. But with one lighted candle, we can light up innumerable candles, without the brightness of the flame of the first candle getting exhausted or even diminished. That is why; Light is the giver of light, which dispels all darkness. This first Jyothi, the source, is called the Akhanda Jyothi. Those who come and light up their

lamps are called Jeevan Jyothies. So many Jeevan Jyothies, all of them have started from one single Akhanda Jyothi only. By putting this Jyothi in our heart, in each individual Jeeva's heart, the result of the meditation will be that this single Jeevan Jyothi will go and merge it-self in the Akhanda Jyothi and will teach you the oneness of this world and the entire crea-tion. Time and place For Dhyana, the time is important. This time, is referred to as 'Brahma Muhurtha' - from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m. You will have to meditate at the same time, every day. There are also some methods and disciplines for this. The practice of getting up early, is also a very good habit. If while you are young, your mind and body are still very sound and sturdy, you do not start such good practices and get used to them, then when you grow a little older, and your body becomes a little more infirm and stiff, it will not be possi-ble for you to do so. You may not be able to get the happiness and benefit out of the practices. Therefore, not only time, a fixed place is also essential. At the time of your Dhyana, if you, are willing to offer love through your medita-


There is a small example for this. We have planted a small fruit tree. When it is a small plant, we want to protect it by giving it a fence. Why? It is because we feel that goat, sheep and such other animals will come and probably eat it up and destroy the plant. We want it to grow well. But when that plant has grown and become a big tree, then we remove all that fencing. Why? Because the very same animals, which would have eaten up and destroyed the plant when it was tender, will then come and seek shelter and shade that the big tree now provides. The practice that ultimately gives you moksha or liberation should in the initial stages be regarded as a plant. For this practice, the fence called discipline is absolutely necessary. The reason being that bad company, bad ideas, bad association and such other things may come and may destroy this young plant of practice. Not to let this happen, we will have to accept and observe discipline as the fence, which will protect us. When this young plant which is seeking moksha by Dhyana, grows and becomes a big tree, then even though such bad ideas, bad company and bad thoughts come close to the person, the big tree is such that all these visitors will only get pleasure and happiness out of that tree. They cannot do any harm to that tree.

tion, then surely at the appropriate time, God will come and will receive your love, and will give you all happiness. What you have to give to God is love from within your heart. It must be at the appropriate time. Posture While sitting for meditation, certain rules have to be observed. The first requisite is to sit in the Padmaasana, lotus posture. If you cannot, then train yourself to sit in a steady and comfortable posture with the head erect, the back and the spine, straight and upright. Neither the back nor the head should be bent or held in an inclined position. Some persons bend their necks during meditation. This is very harmful, as the arresting of the rising Kundalini Shakthi at the throat, where some subtle naadis (arteries) oper-ate, may endanger the entire physical system. The cloth one wears during meditation should be tied loosely so that there is no pressure on the waist. The eyes have to be concentrated on the tip of the nose. If the eyes are open, they are likely to turn in different directions and one's attention is likely to get distracted. The eyes should be half open. If they are fully closed, one may be overcome by sleep. The mind should be freed from bad thoughts and filled with sacred thoughts. This calls for control over all the sense organs. The ears should be trained to listen only to matters relating to the Divine and to eschew evil gossip. The eyes should be told to see God. The mind should be restrained from restlessness by making it concentrate on the breathing process and relating inhalation and exhalation to the repetition of the mantra, 'So-Ham' ('I am He'). How to sit While sitting for meditation in a group, one should not be in contact with anyone else. This is highly important. Meditation is like the proc-ess of electrifying a wire. If a live wire comes in contact with something, it will produce a shock. During meditation, spiritual energy is generated. How is this energy lost? It is lost through fingernails and the hairs on one's body. This was the reason why the ancient saints al-lowed their nails and hairs to grow freely. Spiri-tual energy has to be conserved by all possible means. The saints practiced silence to conserve

the energy lost through speech. Do not develop too close a relationship with one another. Such close relationship results in intimate friendship, which produces mutual obligations and expec-tations. From these arise the sense of ego. When expectations are not fulfilled, resentment emerges. When they are realized, the ego gets inflated. Either way, the consequences of enter-taining desires are undesirable. When resent-ment grows, the discriminating power is weak-

ened. One loses control over his tongue and indulges in all kinds of abuse. Abuse leads to sinful con-duct. The whole process is gener-ated by excessive association with one another. Where to sit Do not sit on bare ground. You

should sit on either a wooden plank or on a mat or something like that. Do not sit on a bare wooden plank. Spread a piece of cloth over it. The reason for this is that the earth has got the power of conduction and diffusion. When you sit in meditation, the current of Divine strength is passing through you, on account of your Dhy-ana. On account of the attraction, which the earth has, you should not get disturbed. When we lay an electric wire inside a house, we also have a specially constructed wire which is called the earth wire and which is put into the earth. Likewise, we should regard our body as our house. While thus, in the house of our body we are in the process of giving rise to and es-tablishing the Divine current, we should take all precautions that are necessary by insulating ourselves from the earth and by preventing the power or the strength in you from flowing away or dissipating into the earth. Light Meditation Before sitting on the wooden plank, have a small Jyothi, a lamp or a candle light in front of you. Look at the light well with open eyes. Seated appropriately, open your eyes and look steadily (without straining the eyes) at the flame placed in the front. Then, after a minute close your eyes and mentally picture the flame as en-tering within you (through the forehead), the same flame that was outside. Thus, internally visualizing the flame let it move down into the center of the Lotus of your heart. If you are not able to picture the light in the lotus of your


heart and get that feeling, then open your eyes, look at the light again, close your eyes and try to picture it inside your heart once again. Visu-alize the lotus opening up it’s petals one by one and the flame as burning bright, shedding out it’s light from the center of the lotus. After that, take this light from the center of the heart and move it to each part of your body; bring it to your neck; from the neck bring it to your hands; from the hands to your legs and feet; from the feet take it to your eyes; then to your ears; your mouth; finally bring it out all around you. All the limbs of your body should have been touched and bathed by the light of the flame. Now imagine that you have taken this light and given it to those who are related to you; those who are affectionate to you and your friends. Not only that, spread the light even amongst your enemies. Bring them into your memory and feel that the same light that is shining in you, is shining within all of them also. After that, picture to yourself that you have taken this light and given it to all the birds the beasts and everything around you. You should extend and stretch out this feeling, widening your heart so as to encompass all beings, animals, birds and all creatures in the creation with your love. Therefore, the feeling that is within us, and out-side us, and in all beings and in all Creation, animate and inanimate, should fill our mind and heart. We should lose ourselves in such a feel-ing i.e. a feeling of oneness of all beings, of all Creation, the feeling of non-duality, the feeling of unity of all life and existence. Where this

light has moved, there will be no darkness. Since this Jyothi has reached your eyes and ears, you will no longer have any bad vision and, you will not hear evil any more. Because this Jyothi has reached your tongue, you cannot utter any bad words. Since this light has reached your head, evil thoughts should no longer enter your head nor will they arise in you. Since the same light has gone into your heart, bad ideas should no longer enter your

heart. Since the same light has also touched your feet, your feet should no longer walk into unholy places. Also, your hands will no longer engage themselves in unworthy or bad acts. The word bad is synonymous with darkness. If you have allowed this light to spread everywhere, there is no room anywhere for this darkness or bad to persist. Light is the great purifier. By traversing along all the parts of the body and the senses, it purifies all of them. Light dispels all darkness, as also ignorance lying in its path. Teaching children with care The true significance of the light will have to be made understood to the children. They should be made to practice moving of the light all over the organs and limbs of the body, by thought. It should be impressed upon them that there is only one and the same light, which is the life-principle in all. Thus, while teaching children, making them sit in a posture and they merely remaining silent is no indication of meditation. They are too young. Teachers should watch closely and ask the children occasionally what they are actually doing. Explain to them in de-tail the purpose of taking the light through all parts of the body and create an interest and en-thusiasm in them for this practice. Of course, all the above presupposes and takes for granted that the teachers are practicing meditation and are themselves proceeding and progressing in the right direction. Samadhi Samadhi is the culmination of meditation. It is a state transcending the mind, it is a super con-scious state. “Sama” means a balanced state and “Dhee” means Buddhi, the intellect. It is equal mindedness in all states, whether it is joy or sorrow, good or bad, heat or cold, under any circumstances. This is the fruition or outcome of the practice of meditation. The intellect will get purified and refined by the practice of medi-tation and such a refined intellect will have a unitized vision or the feeling of oneness with all creation. The path leading towards this feeling of oneness alone is meditation. Seek only such a lasting treasure.

- Compiled from Bhagawan’s Discourses on Meditation


When no other feeling, no other consciousness is there, that is the real state of meditation; it is losing of oneself (one’s individuality) into the Supreme Being and Existence.

For more than half a century Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has been preparing the present generation for the Golden Era, which the next millennium is set to experi-ence. Bhagawan, by His inimitable subtle ways has provided a blueprint for the creation of a heavenly world and a master plan, which calls for reconstruction of the whole world to bring full glorification to both inner and outer levels of life. The inner level of life is glorified through development of higher states of con-sciousness and blossoming of Human excellence through Practice of Human Values. The outer level of life is brought to perfection by applying this excellence to all walks of life namely health, agriculture, education, architecture, administration and arts. In this great Mission of Sai, we, His devotees are His instruments. In Swami's own words – “The whole world itself will be transformed into Sathya Sai Organization and Sai will be installed in the hearts of one and all. For this My Darshan will come forth from Me through you to the world'. To become His suitable instruments to bring about His Mission of creating the Golden Era is our Vision for the next millennium.

What are our immediate tasks?

1. Leaders of the Organization Leaders of the Organization must have a deep spiritual and intellectual basis. To show leadership is to be a leader at every level. Leader must take up proactive roles to motivate and lead from the front. In short we are heading from the time of "Information Technology” to the era of “Transformation Technology”. Leaders have to see that every devotee is a ‘composer’ and not a mere ‘computer’. 2. Foster the Roots of one's Religion “Let a Hindu be a good Hindu, a Christian be a good Christian and a Buddhist be a good Buddhist". At the height of one's evolution all barriers between races and religions will vanish. 3. The Spiritual Base of the Devotees The Spiritual Base of the Devotees must be raised through Study Circles, Sadhana Camps and more interfaith programs. Every Sai center in our region must be a beacon to fellow pilgrims on the Sai Path with harmony and Love prevailing at centers at all times without the barriers of 'my-ness' and 'I-ness' among devotees. 4. Education in Human Values (EHV) Education in Human Values must become the very breath of Sai Organization and we must develop

VISION FOR THE NEXT MILLENNIUM THE GOLDEN AGE OF SATHYA SAI

Immediate tasks for Year 2000 by Dr. V.K. Ravindran, Regional Coordinator


modules for inculcation of human values in all walks of life - like administration, health, agriculture, industry and planning. Gradual steps taken in this direction could achieve this. • Setting up of a Sathya Sai School in each country before Baba's 75' Birthday and increasing

the number in course of time. • Adoption of schools for the Introduction of EHV programs. • Setting up of more EHV centers in the community centers to foster love, togetherness and

amity through Human Values talks, art, drawing, poem and drama competitions, debating or displays at National level/Regional level.

• SSE programs should go hand in glove with SSEHV programs so that the blossoming of the children happens - they will eventually become messengers and missionaries of SAI.

• National organization to set up EHV exhibition to be taken through out the country. 5. Seva Activities Seva activities should become a spontaneous activity of every devotee - so spontaneous that one does not even know that one is serving another. Few suggestions of the 1" Convention of Chairpersons that can be considered are: 1. A Region X Seva project to be launched preferably in Bali or Manila or Medan encompassing

a Health and Medical Camp, Exhibition, setting up of a playground etc. to bring out the mes-sage 'Love and Service'.

2. To construct houses for the homeless in each country in our region. 3. National Seva Projects like the Social Action Initiative (S.A.I.) carried out in Malaysia and

the ABC (Action For Betterment Of Community) program in Malaysia. 4. To embark on major service projects to help uplift the suffering of the hard core poor. These activities should become on-going program. 6. YOUTH ACTIVITIES Following the 1st World Youth Conference many countries have set up National Youth Councils. This is true of Region X. The dynamism of the youth has now been recognized and we have to create the second line of Youth Leaders and Teen Youth Co-coordinators for every country in our region. Besides involving in games, debating, drama and management workshops more and more youths should take up challenging service projects that will complement the Sai Baba Centers in their effort to carry out permanent service projects for the year 2000. Every center in Region X should have a Youth Wing by the dawn of the New Millennium and it must become a beehive of constructive activity with the aim of Nation Building. 7. THE REGION X SAI CONVENTION The Region X Sai Convention in Singapore in the year 2000 is an effort to rise above national bor-ders to foster brotherhood among nations of the region. Through all these activities, it is the individual devotee who projects himself in his attempt to reach the ideals set by Bhagawan. Transformation through individual, family and Community Sadhana is of utmost urgency. Baba says, “Past is history, future is mystery, the given moment is a gift. That is why it is called a present”.


Let us offer ourselves at His Lotus Feet for He has given us this great opportunity to become a part of

His Great Mission.

The Sai group here is not a reg-istered body and functions mainly as a limited group. There are two centers, one at Bandar Seri Begawan and the other at Seria Our activities over the years include the fol-lowing. Spiritual Wing ! Bhajan sessions. Weekly

on Thursdays at 7.15 p.m. at the temple venue and at the main center there are about 60 to 70 devotees attending. At the other cen-ter there are about varying numbers, from 20 to 30 devotees. Bhajan sessions are also held following Su-prabhatham on the first Sunday of the month, early morning. In addition, spe-cial bhajans are held on all the sacred days throughout the year, the biggest turn-out being on Guru-poornima, Shivaraathri and Swami’s Birthday celebra-tion. We are also having regular bhajan practice ses-sions a day before the Thursday bhajan, with a good number of interested lead singers.

Bhajans are mainly in the normal Sanskrit forms and occasionally Tamil ver-sions are sung. Most of the messages are spoken in English, and with transla-tion into Nepali if neces-sary for some devotees.

! Meditation. Group medita-tion and silent sitting have been held regularly every Friday for the past 8 to 9 years for about an hour in one of member’s homes with a small group of regu-lar attendees, practicing Light meditation.

! Study Circle sessions. These are also being held weekly following the meditation session on Fri-days, with about 8 to 10 members attending.

! Sadhana camps. These have been held about twice a year with good response. The last Camp was held in March `99, when we were fortunate to have our Re-gional Coordinator and his wife with us, and give us talks on various topics and brief us on the recent hap-penings in the region and

at Prasanthi Nilayam. Educational Wing ! Balvikas classes: There

are at present 2 classes go-ing on, one for Module 1 with about 7 students and the other Module 2 with about 20 students on an-other day. The children have shown keen interest, including the parents and have participated in the Easwaramma Day activi-ties here. The parents have expressed a lot of support for the classes, and taken time off their busy sched-ules to take part in their children’s progress in the classes, and help in their involvement in the drama activities. EHV – We plan to start them when we do have enough students.

Service Wing ! Seva activities.

Visits to the Old Folks Home once a month, bringing them food and other articles. Narayana seva – preparing food parcels and distribut-

SAI ACTIVITIES IN BRUNEI

Brunei Darusalaam is a small country with a total population of 310,000, with a pre-dominant Malay population. There is a small population of expatriates in the country, made up of skilled and unskilled labor and professionals being employed by the public and private sector, coming from many different countries and also Nepalese in the Gurkha regimen. Most of the Sai devotees are expatriates.


ing them to the workers in various camp sites, on all occasions. Sending cash or used items for worthy causes over-seas, as needed. Helping some patients in hospital who are in need of physical, moral or finan-cial support.

! Garage sale, Sai fellowship dinners and picnics for the children were organized to improve the Sai fellow-ship.

There has been a limitation for carrying out seva activities, due to various reasons but the group has been very coopera-tive in all the endeavors so far. More importantly, there has

been a steady transformation into greater interest to involve in spiritual activities and many have made recent visits to Pras-anthi Nilayam, and some with interesting first time experi-ences, and yearning to go more often over the past few years. More books are being bor-rowed from our small library, including children’s books. Ladies wing Plans will be made for the year ahead. Sai fellowship gather-ings are planned for the ladies. At present there is no Youth wing, since to a large extent, the youth are away overseas for their education. In Brunei, the tertiary education is not avail-able for the expatriates’ chil-

dren. Drama activities were performed during the Easwara-ramma Day, enacted by the children of the Balvikas class We would like to involve the children and the adolescents in more drama activities and mu-sical activities in the next year plan. The children have also been contributing to small quarterly Sai Children’s News-letter for our group.

Bhajans are sung in both their original forms (including Eng-lish bhajans) and new bhajans have been created in the Indo-nesian Language. Bhajan cas-settes are also regularly pro-duced for sale not only in Indo-nesia but are also available in Prasanthi Nilayam. Bhajans

have been the backbone of the Sai movement in Indonesia. Recently, the center has under-taken 12 hour chanting of the Gayathri mantra. Seva Wing Now however, the Sai Organi-zation has moved into all areas. With the economic crisis play-

ing such a major role in Indo-nesian life the Service Wing has gained more and more im-portance. Recent service pro-jects included regular distribu-tion of basic food commodities such as rice, oil and sugar in highly impoverished Jakarta areas and important vaccina-

SAI ACTIVITIES IN INDONESIA


The Sai Organization in Indonesia has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. From its incep-tion in 1973, now all across the archipelago are 44 affiliated centers, which report to the Yayasan Sri Sathya Sai Indonesia, (our National Council) which is located in Jakarta. Each geographical region has appointed regional co-coordinators who liaise with the Jakarta Center. However, the bulk of the Sai Centers are in Bali where the population is predominantly Hindu. In the main centers of Java and Sumatra the attendees at the Bhajan sessions are a mix of Indian, Chinese and Indone-sian. On major holidays it is not unusual to have attendance of over 500 people for bhajans in each of the major cities: Jakarta, Surabaya and Denpasar, Bali.

Since its inception in 1983, the Sri Sathya Sai Central Council of Malaysia (SSSCM) has as of date, a total of 34 full-fledged Sai Centers. These Centers are complemented by a total of 24 Devotional Groups. The Malaysian Sai movement has many a time been seen to be a leading light in the Sai World in terms of being at the forefront of activity both spiritual and service as well as constantly taking the lead in initiating bold and challenging new ideas of visionary proportion. The SSSCM was the first National Sai organization to implement the Youth program, TRAC (Tradition, Religion, Aspiration and Culture) program as well as initiating international service projects such as the SAI RAM (Social Action Initiative – Relief and Mercy) project to aid the victims of the North Korean Disaster. Appended below are glimpses of some of the work done by the SSSCM and devotees during 1998 – 1999.

tions to underprivileged chil-dren. Weekly seva, on Sun-days, are done at local orphan-ages, old folks homes, hospi-tals and mental institutions. The Jakarta Youths have also just finished seva of hepatitis to poor children under the age of 10 living in slum areas. Along with the hepatitis seva they also had been doing the chil-dren nourishment programmed to the under nourished children also living in slum areas. Education Wing The Education wing has also been very busy with the setting up of a Sathya Sai school, which offers free education to students. The Sai School is lo-cated in Bengkulu, Sumatra and is modeled after the Sai School in Thailand. With Swami’s blessings, the first students began their classes in July 99. In Jakarta the Educa-tion program presently being conducted is a two-month ses-sion of weekly EHV classes for teachers. The SSEHV team is also busy in preparing to

launch an extensive SSEHV program for children of non-Sai devotees. This will involve in sending our teachers to local schools to train them in the use of SSEHV in the curriculums of the schools. Mahila Vibhag The Mahila Vib-hag is an active and vibrant part of the Sai Center activities. They contribute to the preparation for the various ser-vice activities. And they also provide invaluable support to the Bal Vikas & Teen Youth program. The Bal Vikas stu-dents has surged in the last 2 yrs to over 80 children in the Jakarta Center alone, and there-fore required the spin-off of the Teen Youth. Thereby programs are tailored to all age groups. Youth Wing The Youth Wing has also been very active. Sadhana camps have become a regular feature.

The initial Sadhana camps (in 1996) to motivate the Youth were led by Brother Jegathee-san of Malaysia. But subse-quently, the Camps have been held with Local Speakers. Regular activities of the Youth Wing are weekly Study classes

and weekly Gita classes. The Youth has also invited Brother Jegatheesan to Ja-karta on two separate occa-sions (March 97, March 98) to speak about Hindu TRAC. These programs were well attended by many non-Sai people. And these inspiring talks by

Brother Jegatheesan launched the TRAC program in Jakarta. As a follow-up activity, a Hindu Sadhana Camp was held where members of other Spiri-tual Movements, such as Dada JP Vaswani, were invited to come and participate. A book-let (the first of its kind) was also prepared by a Jakarta youth detailing all the salient points of the TRAC program.

SAI ACTIVITIES IN MALAYSIA


Sathya Sai National Con-vention 1998 In December the SSSCM or-ganized its 8th National Con-vention at the hill resort of Cameron Highlands. Approxi-mately 1,600 members and devotees participated in this 3-day Convention. The aim of the Convention was to foster fellowship amongst the Sai fra-ternity and to chart out devel-opmental plans for the Malay-sian Sai organization over the next 2 years. Social Action Initiative (SAI 2) This project was launched on the 21st of May 1999. It forms a humble offering on the occa-sion of Bhagawan’s 75th Birth-day in the year 2000. This Na-tional service project aims to: • Repair a minimum of 75

homes for hardcore poor especially in rural Ma-laysia.

• Provide 75 or more wheelchairs for deserv-ing poor.

• Carry out 75 free surger-ies in Eye, ENT, Ortho-pedics and Plastic Sur-gery.

• Set up 75 Centers that provide free tuition and Accelerated Learning Skills.

• Free Legal Advice • Registration of 750 Or-

gan Donors.

Sathya Sai Primary School Project The SSSCM has set forth to establish a Sathya Sai Primary School in Malaysia as our gift to Swami on His 75th Birthday in the Year 2000. The Project was launched in December 1998 and the SSSCM hopes to have the Sathya Sai Primary School – Malaysia ready on the 23rd of November 2000. Action for the Betterment of Society (ABC) Project The ABC Project is a bold ex-periment by the SSSCM and Friendship Group for Human Values and a Caring Society (an informal group initiated by SSSCM that bring together all caring Malaysians of all races and walks of life) to bring about a reduction in crime and negative behavior in an area that has been declared by the Mayor of Kuala Lumpur as the most problematic areas in terms of value degeneration in Kuala Lumpur. This area is the San Peng Area. It was offi-cially launched by the Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia in Sept. 1999. The objectives are to attempt to bring residents, especially the youth into a value oriented lifestyle. San Peng has about 24,000 resi-dents of multi ethnic back-grounds. Activities have been organized focusing on 3 com-ponents: Family Values, Inter-faith/Racial Unity and Eleva-tion Human Values. Thus so far, 21 major events have been organized including Human Values Song Festival, Medical Health Camps, Free Tuition Classes, Computer Education Center, Human Values Drama Festival and Leadership Train-

ing Camps. Sathya Sai Scholarship/ Loan Fund It was launched in 1995 and it is envisaged that by Swami’s 75th Birthday a total of 115 stu-dents would have benefited from the Sai Education Loan. The total funding approved as to date is RM230,950 (US$60,776) wi th ano ther RM114,000 (US$30,000) available. The recipients of the loans have not necessarily been Sai devotees. It aims to foster educational achievement amongst poorer Malaysians and the funds collected have been primarily from Malaysian Sai devotees.

Brief Reports on the Vari-ous Wings of SSSCM Service The Service activities of the Sai Centers in Malaysia in-clude Regular Hospital Visits, Old Folks Homes Visits, Health and Medical Camps, Visits to Handicap Homes and Leprosarium’s. Major Service Projects include the ongoing Sathya Sai Medical and Dental Clinic in Kuala Lumpur and the Japanese Encephalitis Dis-aster Project undertaken in 1999. Spiritual Activities under the spiritual wing have been quite steady and successful. Sadhana Camps, regular bhajans, study circles and light meditation are


usual features in all Centers. Under the CITRAC umbrella, (Committee on Indian Tradi-tion, Religion, Aspiration and Culture), Centers have organ-ized talks and seminars on Hin-duism, regular Hinduism classes or Thevaram classes as well as holding bhajans at Temples.

Education All the 34 Centers have SSEHV classes running in their respective localities. There are 4248 registered students on the SSSCM roll of SSEHV classes with 277 trained gurus. Some of the highlights for 1998 and 1999 include the participation of 30 students and 12 gurus from Malaysia in the Interna-tional Float Procession and Dance at Prasanthi Nilayam in November 1998 and National SSEHV Teachers Training Pro-gram in Tamil in June 1999 where over 283 teachers par-ticipated in a 2-day purpose structured Camp. Another achievement is the Pervasive Human Values Pro-gram into the National Schools. The goal was to be given a spe-cific group of students and try out the Human Values Pro-gram. This opportunity came by when a school in the Kuala Lumpur area, the Sultan Abdul Samad Secondary School spe-cifically requested the National Youth Coordinator to help mo-

tivate four Fifth Form – SPM (equivalent to “O” levels) classes. An official request was made to the SSSCM and this program was run over a period of 4 months on a weekly basis with proper diagnostic tests given at the beginning and end of the program. This Project was organized by the youth. Ladies (Wanita): The ladies wing has organized a series of Ladies Sadhana Camps around the country highlighting the role of women in the eyes of Swami, and in nation building. During 1998, a booklet entitled “Navarathri – Worship of Mother Goddess” was published, and well re-ceived by both Sai and Non-Sai devotees. Nearly all Centers organize monthly ladies meet-ings usually on the 19th of each month with an hour or so of Satsang, discussions on women’s issues and so on. In July 1999, a 2-day Out Reach Skills program was organized in Kuala Lumpur and a total of 79 ladies participated. Youth The Youth wing of the SSSCM have been very active during 1998-1999 as in previous years and have been at the forefront of initiating new and dynamic programs. The structure of youth activities has been fur-ther enhanced by the formation of the National Youth Coordi-nating Committee (NYCC). Some of the highlights include the Pan Malaysian Youth Sad-hana Camp held in August 1998 where 221 youth partici-pated. The theme of the 3-day Camp was “The Expectations of the Avatar”. The ABC Pro-ject in the San Peng Area is also spearheaded by the youth.

2 to 3 other regions in Malay-sia are also preparing a similar program with youth as the driv-ing force. A ‘Parents’ Appre-ciation day’ with the theme, “My Parents My Treasure”, was simultaneously organized in three different regions throughout the country to pro-mote greater family unity Various other Regional and Center activities have also been carried by the youth including Regional Sai Games, Free Tui-tion Classes, Setting up of Sai Websites, Talks at Colleges and Universities on Hinduism and so on. Sai Chinese Affair (SCA) In September 1998, SCA or-ganized a 2-day Seva Workers Training Seminar and a total of 104 Chinese brothers and sis-ters participated. The first ever Chinese EHV Gurus Training program was held in May 1999 that attracted 44 new aspiring gurus. All training methodol-ogy was presented in Chinese and teaching materials trans-lated into Chinese languages. The SCA also publishes a quar-terly Chinese language bulletin entitled “Bai Shan” that is cir-culated to disseminate informa-tion to non-English speaking Chinese devotees. This bulletin is well supported also in Aus-tralia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Canada.


Activities in 1998, 1999 Spiritual Weekly bhajans, study circles, and meditation are conducted at all the bhajan venues. SSSO conducted the chanting of 1008 Gayathri on New Year day, over night 12-hour bhajan for Maha sivarathri, 24-hour Bhajan for Global Akhanda Bhajan. In addition, the first laksharchana (100,000 divine names) was performed in May 1998. Bro Ravindran, and Sis Viji Ravindran conducted three Sadhana Camps (two in 1998, and one 1999), on the themes “Harmony at Home”, “Love, Sacrifice, and Discipline—Essentials for a Spiritual Aspi-rant”, and “3H-Head, Heart, and Hands”. In 1999, monthly workshops were begun for orientation on Jyothi meditation, significance of bhajan, and seva. These have been regularized into weekly activities, including instruction on bhajan singing and playing musical instru-

ments by professional musi-cians, since June 1999. Selfless Service Until December 1998, regular Narayana seva activities were done on the second Sunday of every month at various places—central jail, orphan-ages, home for aged, etc. in different parts of Manila. Starting 1999, SSSO regular-ized two service programs, which were designed in keep-ing with Swami’s 9-point code of conduct. No cash donations are collected for these service programs. One program pro-vides “essential supplies for the poor” (supplies good for one week for 60 families). Another program, provides a cooked meal for 100 inmates at a home for the aged. The Youth volunteers con-ducted SSEHV classes for the children at Paco Settlement House (PSH) (orphanage for children) every Sunday, until December 1998, when the PSH was burned down by an unfor-tunate fire accident. SSSO formed a Task Force for Relief

Activities, volunteers attended the funeral for the deceased, visited the distressed, also or-ganized a Christmas party for the surviving children. SSEHV for Devotees SSEHV classes for children of devotees were regularized (every Sunday) in March 1999. SSEHV for Schools With Baba’s abundant Grace, SSEHV programs made a big start in May 1998, when SSEO was invited to the National Convention of Values Educa-tion Teachers (PSEP), to give a talk on SSEHV which was attended by over 600 senior administrators, principals, and teachers, including the former Secretary of Education. In commemoration of the year of Peace, SSEO announced in June 1998, a contest on “Peace, youth and human values”. The contests on poster making, es-say and speech for all the 1600 public schools in the National Capital Region was formally endorsed by the Department of Education, Culture and Sports.

The history of the Sathya Sai activities in the Philippines dates back to 1976. On 25 October 1998, Dr. V. K Ravindran upgraded the Sri Sathya Sai Baba Centers to the Sri Sathya Sai Organization (SSSO), Philippines, and formed the first Central Coordinating Committee. In March 1999, the SSSO was formally incorporated under the Security Exchange Commission, and the Sri Sathya Sai Trust, Philippines was established. Although small in number and recently formalized, SSSO accom-plished few activities with Bhagawan’s Grace. We have five active groups/centers—about 60 registered devotees, comprising mainly Indians, Fili-pino-Indians, local Filipinos and few Chinese. One of the four groups in Metro Manila, and one de-votional group, in Bacolod City were inaugurated in 1999.

SAI ACTIVITIES IN THE PHILIPPINES


Dr Jumsai and Dr Teerakiat, from the Institute of Sathya Sai Education, Thailand, visited Philippines for finale events on 27-29 November 1998. The three day affair was epoch-making. They addressed diplo-mats, Government officials, Education specialist, and senior administrators from public and private schools and graduate schools, on SSEHV and Sai Parenting. Over 70 teachers received certified training on SSEHV. Dr Jumsai opened the exhibition of winning posters. His Excellency Indian Ambas-sador and Madam who were guests of honor gave away prizes to the winners. SSSO delegates for the both conferences on SSEHV in Prasanthi Nilayam, in July 1998 and 1999, included trained teachers (devotees, and non-devotees). In 1999, a total of 200 teachers have been trained on SSEHV. Dr Jumsai visited Philippines again in October 1999, when he trained teachers and inaugu-rated the Phase I of the first Sri

Sathya Sai School, at Pililia. Youth In March 1999, SSSO inaugu-rated the Sai Teen-Youth Group, comprising over 30 teen-youth children (devotees and non-devotees). In May 1999, the Youth Group announced another contest on

“Values through photos” (a se-quel to that in 1998). Formally endorsed by DECS, the contest is participated students teens and youth, from over 800 pub-lic schools and colleges in Metro Manila. To assist the participants, a workshop on photography highlighting the importance of human values was held in August 1999. The finale events to be held this month, will be attended by Dr Ravindran and Sis Viji. The winning photos will be com-piled into a calendar “SAI 2000” and presented at the lo-tus feet Bhagawan on Novem-ber 20, 1998, by Dr Ravindran. They have regular workshops and meetings and are now as-sisting in major SSSO activi-ties. The first Youth Delegation from the Philippines will join the Second World Youth Con-ference. SSSO will contribute exhibits on Values through photos in Prasanthi Nilayam. Other Activities Since April 1999, SSSO organ-izes a monthly lecture series on Christ and Human Values, in-cluding a holy mass conducted by Father Raj Jegath Gaspar, attended by Christian devotees (and non-devotees). The finale of these lectures will be in in December, when a compilation of these lectures, will be pub-lished as a special booklet on Christ and Human Values. In April 1999, SSSO formal-ized regular Sathya Narayana Pooja and bhajan on full moon day, every month. The inaugu-ral session was attended by Dr Ravindran and Viji Ravindran. The monthly two hour pro-gram, well attended by devo-tees and non-devotees is con-ducted with the cooperation of

the Hindu Temple. A Seminar on Value Parenting and SSEHV, commemorating Ladies day and Human Values Day will be held November 20 1999. SSSO was fortunate to be al-lowed to put up exhibits on quotations of Bhagawan on Peace, during the July 1998 conference at Prasanthi Nilayam. There after, these ex-hibits were handed over, by Dr Ravindran to Sri Sathya Sai School, Zambia. In 1999, SSSO released the all the seven tapes of Bhajan Gems 108, which were re-corded live at bhajan sessions led by Bro Hari Haren—first batch alumnus from the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning, and an accomplished bhajan singer in India—on three occasions of continuous

singing. Sai Jewels The newsletter of SSSO be-came a monthly in 1997, when it was christened Sai Jewels. Regular issues were prepared until October 1999. Articles include Bhagawan’s discourses relating to the month, vegetar-ian cooking, topics for study circle, and SSEHV. With the blessings of Bhagawan, Dr Ravindran upgraded Sai Jewels to this Regional Newsletter, in July 1999.


National Events 1999 and 2000 are important years for the Sai-family in Sin-gapore. It is during these years that major National events are held for the Sai community in Singapore, thus contributing to co-operation and team-work among the various wings of the SSCOS. We celebrate major events in the Sai calendar such as Eswaramma Day, Interna-tional Blood Donation Day, Akhanda Bhajan, Swami's Birthday and Ladies Day. All of these events have bhajan sessions. Besides that, perform-ances are put up to further il-lustrate the significance of these days. Singapore also held a Sai Na-tional Convention 1999 in April. It was a great success - there was the opening cere-mony organized by youths and talks by all the 13 Center presi-dents, the convenors of all the wings and Bro Jegatheesan and Bro Dr Ravi. All the 500 pre-sent really found the conven-

tion greatly enlightening. To-gether with one of the quarterly Blood donation sessions, a spe-cial award, Achiever Against All Odds was given to a de-serving Singaporean in June 1999. First given in 1998, this generated encouragement to others for overcoming any handicaps they might have and stressed the importance of Family Values. Plans are being made to possibly broaden the award to a recipient from the Region. In 1999, the SSCOS jointly organized with the Community Chest (Singapore’s umbrella group of 55 charities) the Largest Quilt for Charity where 630 pieces of quilts were stitched together. Not only did it surpass the existing world record in size but more impor-tantly, it also created great awareness of human values and love, care and concern for the elderly in over 1000 students of primary, secondary and tertiary institutions and people from all

walks of life. The quilts were lovingly designed by them de-picting these values and our Sai Ladies stitched these together to create a magnificent kaleido-scope of values. All the 5 wings of the SSCOS worked hard for this project for about 6 months in order to commemo-rate for the International Year of Older Persons. Besides the display of the quilt, there was also a stage performance and stalls on vanishing trades and games of skill to emphasize the importance of culture. For the year 2000, we plan to have a Blossoming of Human Values show in World Trade Center (tentatively scheduled for January 2nd, 2000). The purpose is to make people aware of values through dance, skit and song. Singapore will also play host for a Regional Conference (the countries that are participating are of Region 10 Zone 3) which will be on February 26/27, 2000. Human Values Drama festival, Fam-

There are now more than 2000 Sai Devotees in Singapore who regularly attend Sai Bhajans. The Sathya Sai Central Organization Singapore (SSCOS) is the National Sai Organization responsible to unite these devotees of various ethnic origins and religious backgrounds to come together in various service, education and spiritual projects. The SSCOS has grown and transformed with itself over the years. Under the SSCOS, there are the 5 normal wings consisting of the Education Wing, Ladies Wing, Seva Wing, Spiritual Wing and the Youth Wing and a specially setup cultural sub-committee to promote cultural awareness amongst Singapore’s multi-ethnic peoples. Each of these wings is very active and contributes widely to the development of the Sai devotees in Singapore. There are 13 Centers which are members of the SSCOS and 6 other bhajan groups.. Thus it is possible to attend bhajans; (English, Sanskrit, Tamil and/or Chinese) every day of the week from Monday to Sunday.

SAI ACTIVITIES IN SINGAPORE


ily Values Day and Family Walk-a-Jog are other events being planned. Swami has graciously accepted the paper to have the honor to do a Lion Dance perform-ance consisting of 75 li-ons at the 75th Birthday celebrations in Puttaparthi. These lions will do a dance and form words such as AUM, Happy Birthday etc. Report from the various Wings Seva Wing The Seva Wing had a very ac-tive year in 1999. The Seva Wing has always been an im-portant pillar in any major event in Singapore, for they are the one that provide the man-power to "enable the show to go on". The Seva Wing played an important role in the Sai Convention 1999, the blood donation quarterly sessions and other important events in the Sai Calendar. Another impor-tant milestone in the Seva Wing is the Sai Seva Conven-tion to be held on October 31st. The main aim of this conven-tion is to establish a core pool of seva dals (targeting for 750 in line with Swami's 75th birth-day) that can be called on whenever there are major events/celebrations. Spiritual Wing The Spiritual Wing plays an important role to lay the foun-dation for the Sai Organization. The wing organized celebration of local festivals in 1999 and for the National events the Spiritual Wing will take care of the spiritual aspects such as

bhajans, study circle and medi-tation. They are keenly ensuring that all bhajans are to Swami’s Directions. The Akhanda Bhajan are always a loving and me-lodious occa-

sion. Education Wing There are nearly 600 students being taught Sai Spiritual Edu-cation at nearly 10 Centres. The children also organized various human values dramas and formed a Sai |Orchestra of various musical instruments. One important milestone in 1999 is the adoption of a stu-dent care centre to teach SSEHV in Singapore. The pur-pose of this education centre will be to teach primary school children SSEHV besides pro-viding day care centre facilities before (for afternoon session) and after (for morning session) school. Ladies Wing The ladies Wing is very active providing talks on important cultural festivals and providing a platform for ladies to meet. The ladies always played a ma-jor role in all the national events and especially the Larg-est Quilt For Charity :- they were responsible for the meas-uring and cutting the quilts to the right dimension; they were also responsible for the mas-sive job of stitching all the 630 pieces of quilts together. La-dies Day is also being organ-ized to have bhajans, talks and cultural performance etc. A national convention on the role of women in Singapore with

relation to Swami’s Directions is also being planned for 2000. Youth Wing 1999 was an important year for the youths with the youths tak-ing charge of various segments in the National Events. The National Youth Wing pre-sented a choir and drama for the Achiever Against All Odds Ceremony, The Largest Quilt for Charity and the Senior Citi-zens Dinner. For the Largest Quilt for Charity, the youths did 10 quilts. They were also part of the organizing commit-tee and were responsible in finding sellers for the stalls, setting up the stalls, the logis-tics, program for that day (the stage show) and the souvenir magazine. For the Sai Conven-tion 1999, the youths organized the Opening Ceremony for the event. Besides helping out and sup-porting in National Events, the youths also went to a Handi-capped Camp at Pasir Ris. In addition, a picnic was organ-ized for the youths as well as for the orphaned children of Ramakrishna Mission. For their own development, the youths hold monthly bhajans. This is normally followed by as study circle or Sai Master's Club (both of these are held every alternate month). The purpose of this Sai Masters is to help youths master the skills of public speaking. There are also choir practices as well as drama practices to rehearse for important events. Every month, the youths will conduct teen youth EHV classes to present topics affecting teenagers through drama, songs, case-studies etc.


The concept for establishing an Institute of Sathya Sai Education was conceived in November 1997. It was de-cided to base it in Thailand under the directorship of Dr. Art-ong Jumsai. The Insti-tute was formally registered by the Thai Government in March 1998 and opened its door to the first batch of Di-ploma students in May of the same year. On May 17th there was a formal opening of the Institute Building, which is lo-cated on the Campus of the Sathya Sai School in Lopburi, Thailand. The first group of students was seventeen in num-ber and came from ten coun-tries around the world. Since then, the Institute has held two more Diploma Courses, one in May of 1998 and the second in January 1999. Most of the stu-dents who have graduated from the Institute are now working hard for the progress of Sathya Sai Education in Human Val-ues, in their own countries. The first graduates received their Diplomas from the Divine Hands of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on 20th November 1998. Since this important event, Bhagawan has declared this day to be Education in Hu-man Values Day, which is to be celebrated around the world. Up to now, fifty students have completed the Diploma Course and four have gone on to take an Advanced Diploma Course.

Aims of the Institute The main aims of the Institute are as follows: ! To propagate the ideals of

Sathya Sai Education, which is to establish Good Character or Human Ex-cellence as the main aim of education in all schools, colleges, and universities around the world.

! To be a center for the training of teachers and educators in Sathya Sai Education.

! To develop new textbooks for the training of teachers and to continually study and develop techniques, methodology, course con-tent, and lesson plans for the teaching of children.

The Institute has organized Teacher Training Seminars and Workshops in several countries since its formation, including Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, Spain, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Singa-pore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Morocco, Indonesia as well as

at Prasanthi Nilayam. The Institute has published eight books on different aspect of Sathya Sai Edu-cation in Human Values and is in the process of printing two more. Most of the books have already been translated into many languages and are being used internationally.

Regional Institutes With the expansion of Sathya Sai Education in Human Val-ues, it is necessary to establish Regional Institutes around the globe, under the umbrella of the Institute in Thailand. Sev-eral countries are in the process of setting up Regional Insti-tutes. The first such Institute to be functioning will be in Ndola, Zambia. The Zambian Institute will begin to offer Di-ploma Courses from January 2000. One of the main stipula-tions for establishing a Re-gional Institute, is that the country should already have a successful Sathya Sai School in operation. Sathya Sai Schools One of the main aims of the Institute is to establish Sathya Sai Schools around the world. At present there are fourteen such schools registered with the Institute, outside of India. There are three schools in Zambia, two in Nepal, one in Thailand, three in South Af-rica, two in Australia, one in

News from the Institute of Sathya Sai Education, Thailand


Indonesia, one in Fiji and one in Brazil. There are plans to start schools in many countries around the world. The goal of the Institute is to establish seventy-five Sathya Sai Schools by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's seventy fifth Birthday in November 2000. Hundreds of schools around the world are now being adopted. This means that the school is upholding the principle of Sathya Sai Education and there is at least one direct Education in Human Values class per week. The aim is to adopt seven hundred and fifty schools by the seventy fifth Birthday. UNESCO Conference To celebrate the 75th Birthday of Bhaga-wan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Institute of Sathya Sai Education and UNESCO will jointly host an International Conference at Prasanthi Nilayam from 25th to 28th Sep-tember 2000. This is a most important event, which will bring together top edu-cators from all over the world in the Di-vine Presence. Seven Hundred participants comprising UNESCO's invited guests and top educators invited by the Sathya Sai Organization from all countries where the organization exists. Every country is asked to select two top educators who are open minded and have a major influ-ence in education in their respective country. The organization in each country will invite these educators and sponsor their airfares and will delegate a person to come and look after them so that they will have a memorable stay in Prasanthi Nilayam. Secondly, there will be many different work committees, which will require many volunteers perhaps with one country taking charge of a particular committee. The major languages of the world will be si-multaneously translated Sai 2000 As many Sathya Sai Schools are being set up around the world, it is necessary to have a stan-dardized system of quality control. This will ensure the highest quality of education and management, which will reflect the teachings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. For this reason,

the Institute of Sathya Sai Education will ar-range a meeting of experts in Sathya Sai Education to consider all aspects of the quality control system, which we propose to call SAI 2000. SAI stands for Stan-dardized Accreditation and In-spection. Three experts on Sathya Sai Education in Human Values, preferably from Sathya Sai Schools in each Zone, including

India (f necessary, more than three persons) may attend if requested by the Zone Chair-man or the President of the Indian Organiza-tion. Thailand's New Education Law A new law on education has been passed by both Houses of Parliament on 30th June 1999. This is an important bill for the people of Thailand, and the main gist of it is as fol-lows: Education must bring about Human Ex-cellence. This pertains not only to the physical body but also to the mind and the intellect. There must be excellence in

knowledge, human values, ethics, and cul-ture. Another aim is the ability to live in peace with one another. The Thai Government has pledged to give equal opportunity to everyone by providing FREE education for 12 years. Teaching must adhere to the principle that all learners have the ability to study and improve themselves. The learner is the most important person. The aim of teaching must be to promote self-development and bring out the full poten-tial. Teaching must give importance to both Hu-man Values and the knowledge of oneself as well as the relationship to all beings. Human Values and all desirable characteristics must be integral parts of all subjects. The Sathya Sai School is the only school in Thailand which has been teaching in accor-dance with the new law for the past eight years. Due to this fact, the Ministry of Education, edu-cational institutions, schools, colleges and uni-versities have contacted the school and the In-stitute to find out about teaching Human Val-ues. An enormous project has been launched to train all the teachers in Thailand. Speakers from


Information for Prospective Students of the Institute Aim Students will study in depth the theory of Sathya Sai Education in Human Values and learn to put it into practice. After completion of the course, the students will become qualified teachers and trainers of SSEHV. Students will also learn how to set up a Sathya Sai School and the adoption and management of existing schools. Diploma Course Next Course: January 7th - March 19th 2000 Diploma Courses students will gain both theo-retical and practical experience. Qualifications • Applicants must have completed secon-

dary education or high school education. • Applicants must have had working ex-

perience for a minimum of one year as a teacher or work involving children or youths.

Or • Be a holder of a Bachelor Degree or

higher and be interested in doing one of the following:

• Becoming a teacher. • Setting up a school. • Managing a school. • Working with children or youth. • Becoming a Trainer.

Application Write a letter to the Institute giving reasons why you wish to study. Include a bio-data and a recent photograph (passport size). There must also be a letter of recommendation from the Chairman or Regional Central Coordinator of the Zone you live in. Provisional Acceptance The Institute will then give a provisional accep-tance. After obtaining this notification, the ap-

plicant must provide the following: • High School Certificate or Certificate of

Completion of Secondary School or highest Degree Certificate. If the document is not in English, an official translation must be made in English and attached to the copy of the original document .

• 12 photographs (passport size) taken re-cently.

• A copy of the first two pages of your pass-port (or pages with relevant information.)

• Transfer US$ 350 into the Institute Ac-count to cover board and lodging for a pe-riod of 10 weeks. Note that for those who wish to stay on (with permission from the Director only) will have to pay for full board and laundry service of $30 per week for the remainder of their stay. There is no charge for tuition fees. Students can send the money directly to the account in Bang-kok Bank if desired. The following are the bank details: a/c no. 2060452972 -Art-ong Jumsai for Sathya Sai Education - Bangkok Bank, Tong Lo Branch.

Visa to study in Thailand The Institute will issue a letter of admission which can then be used to obtain a Visa at a Royal Thai Embassy or Royal Thai Consulate in your country. The visa must be of the type: Non Immigrant - "ED". This will allow a stu-dent to come in to study for a period of 3 months stay from the date of entry. The grant of stay can then be extended if necessary. Arrival in Thailand Return plane tickets must be booked and pur-chased and students must inform the Institute, as soon as possible, of all their details of arri-val - date, time of arrival, airline and flight number. The Institute will have someone to meet them at the airport and arrange transporta-tion from the airport to the Sathya Sai School Campus of the Institute.

the Institute are conducting the trainings and volunteers from the Sathya Sai Foundation of

Thailand are preparing and serving vegetarian food for all the teachers.


INSTITUTE OF SATHYA SAI EDUCATION

November 1999, No 01/1999 SAI JEWELS REGIONAL NEWSLETTER

The educational system is like a

bicycle; a child is the rider of a

bicycle. The front wheel is the

teacher and the back wheel having

the hub is the parent. The cycle will

move forward only if the back

wheel moves forward. The parents

play a vital role in a child’s

education. The teacher and the

parent must work hand in hand to

help the child imbibe all the human

values. Here, both parents and

teachers must remember the

dictum – ‘Be, Do and Tell.’


Human Values Drama festival.

Participants from all countries, Region 10, Zone 3

Family Values Day Family Walk-a-Jog and other events.

See You at Singapore

Regional Conference Sri Sathya Sai Organization, Region X

Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore

26-27 February 2000

Documents

Sai JewelsJewels - saidarshan.org · Radha Subramaniam • • Country Editors: Brunei: Bro. Krishnan Ramasamy Malaysia: Bro. Shankar Santhiram • • Country Coordinators: Brunei: